P is for PESTO!

At the request of a Mrs. Sarah Shipley this post is dedicated to Pesto!! Here's what's so great about pesto, it doesn't have to be all about basil!! Pesto is my favorite way to use an excess amount of greens, and really you can use any green at your fingertips, as long as you know the basic pesto recipe. I've made pesto from kale, mizuna, ruby streaks (an amazing mizuna/kale hybrid!), blanched peas, arugula, spinach, cilantro, mint and any combination of the above!! It's funny, this year I didn't even freeze any basil pesto because by the time there was an abundance of basil on the farm, my freezer was already completely packed with other kinds of pesto!

So here's the basic pesto recipe:

2 cups greens

1/4 cup toasted nuts (walnuts, almond, pine nuts, whatever)

-P.S. I haven't bought pine nuts in SO long, they are still 20 something dollars a pound, ridiculous!

1/4 cup parmesan (you can omit if you'd like to make the recipe vegan)

garlic (optional, depending on the green you're using)

Olive oil

Salt to taste

1) Wash your greens and let them dry as much as possible (yeah for salad spinners!!)

2) Place the nuts, garlic, and cheese in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Add the greens. It helps to do the greens in batches in order to make the pesto as smooth as possible.

3) With the blade of the food processor spinning, add the olive oil until you've reached your desired consistency. It's important to add the olive oil while the blade is spinning in order to emulsify the whole mixture (yeah, that's right, I said emulsify).

4) Feel free to half this recipe, double it, or triple it. Just base your recipe on the amount of greens you have.

If you're freezing your pesto for later use I recommend storing it in sandwich sized ziploc bags. Fill the bag with a few table spoons of pesto, flatten the bag (trying to get as much air out as possible), label the bag with type of pesto/quantity/date, and then freeze. If you flatten the bag before you freeze it, storage of the pesto becomes very efficient! You can line them up like books or stack them. Awwwwesome!

Feel free to vary this recipe to your liking! You could add lemon juice, sundried tomatoes, mix the greens, you get my point :) Also, pesto isn't just for pasta. It's my favorite topping for a fresh baked pizza, and you can use it as a rub on any meat. Just the other night, I made a braise with chicken and white beans, and topped this juicy goodness with a dollop of spinach pesto. You can also use it to brighten up a variety of soups. Next time you make minestrone, think of adding a 1/4 cup of pesto to the pot right before serving. Yum!!

A tasty mix of chard and ruby streaks